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Art exhibit expressly for canine critics debuts in NYC

By FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press
| on August 12, 2017

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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Jax Reilly, a black labrador, cools off in Eleanna Anagnos' "Penumbra Oasis" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

Bug, a domestic short hair cat, inspects Noah Scalin's "The Hand That Feeds" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

Bug, a domestic short hair cat, inspects Noah Scalin's "The Hand That Feeds" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created ... more

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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Dogs interact with Merav Ezer's "The Barking Project" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

Dogs interact with Merav Ezer's "The Barking Project" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on ... more

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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Colby, a Danish Swedish farm dog, marks his territory on Merav Ezer's "The Barking Project" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

A dog sits on Paul Vinet's "Fountain" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

A dog sits on Paul Vinet's "Fountain" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at ... more

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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April Moon, a Chihuahua, poses for a photo on Graham Caldwell's "The Conclave" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

April Moon, a Chihuahua, poses for a photo on Graham Caldwell's "The Conclave" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created ... more

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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Hudson, a French bulldog, takes a bite off Dana Sherwood's "Confections of Canines and Kings" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

Hudson, a French bulldog, takes a bite off Dana Sherwood's "Confections of Canines and Kings" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations ... more

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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Riley, a basset hound, exits Noah Scalin's "The Hand That Feeds" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

Riley, a basset hound, exits Noah Scalin's "The Hand That Feeds" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, ... more

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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Kathryn Cornelius, center, performs "Sit, Stay, Heal" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

Kathryn Cornelius, center, performs "Sit, Stay, Heal" at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on ... more

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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Lorraine Gates poses for a photo with Mitsu at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan from Aug. 11 through 13. less

Lorraine Gates poses for a photo with Mitsu at Dogumenta (I) NYC, Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, in New York. The art show, featuring 10 sculptures and installations created specifically for dogs, will be on display at ... more

Photo: Mary Altaffer, AP

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Art exhibit expressly for canine critics debuts in NYC

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NEW YORK (AP) — You won't find any pictures of dogs playing poker at DoGUMENTA.

A three-day art exhibition curated expressly for dogs is attracting hundreds of canines to a marina in lower Manhattan, where hounds and terriers are feasting their eyes, and in some cases their mouths, on nearly a dozen masterpieces.

The idea is the brainchild of former Washington Post art critic Jessica Dawson, who says she was inspired by her rescue dog Rocky, a tiny morkie (Yorkie-Maltese mix), who regularly joins her at exhibits of the human variety.

"When Rocky accompanied me on my gallery visits I noticed that he was having a much better time than I was," explains Dawson, who moved to New York four years ago. "He was not reading the New York Times reviews, he was not reading the artists' resumes, and so I said he has something to teach me about looking, and all dogs have something to teach us about looking at contemporary art and being with it."

Organizers of the exhibit, which takes its name from Documenta, which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany, and put on by Arts at Brookfield, staggered the arrival times of the dogs to keep things orderly.

The 10 works of art at the outdoor exhibit were all strategically placed at eye-level for the canines. One featured an elaborate display of dog biscuits and other treats that attendees were invited to munch on.

At another exhibit, four-legged art critics were lifting their hind legs and "expressing" themselves on a work called "Fountain." As the dogs left their marks, scribbles of blue streaks were left behind on the white blocks.

Dawson said Rocky had visited several times.

Susan Godwin and her morkie, Tasha, were soaking up the art vibes. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Godwin gushed. "You can go to museums all over New York and you can never bring your dog."